Why Don't You Date Her?
by lilbitstrange143
Summary: “You know what Derek? Since she’s obviously on your mind so much, and since you think you know what kind of guys she should date, why don’t you just date her?” When Derek realizes how often Casey is on his mind, will it lead to something else? *Dasey*
1. Why Don't You Date Her?

"What about Chinese food?" Sally asked as she and Derek drove down a street. Derek and her had been dating for a couple months and things were good. It was Friday night, and they were deciding where to go for dinner. Derek looked at the restaurant briefly before shaking his head.

"I'm not sure that's a great idea; once Casey had some of their food and ended up getting sick for almost a week. Of course, she freaked out about her homework. It was hilarious, of course, because it's Casey, but--"

"Derek." Sally looked at him; she had a tired look on her face.

"What?" Derek asked, glancing at her.

"We've been out hardly 10 minutes, and this is the _third_ time you've mentioned Casey." She said, crossing her arms and turning to look out the passenger window. Derek looked at her. They had this argument a couple times before; Derek didn't know where it was coming from. Sure, he liked to talk about Casey and the things she did, but it was in the purpose of laughing at her.

"What? No it isn't, and I wasn't talking about Casey, I was talking about pizza. Big difference."

"Yes, it was the third time and no, you were talking about the pizza _and_ Casey." Sally shot, obviously annoyed. Derek pulled the car over and turned to face her.

"Oh really? What else did I say about Casey then?" Derek asked in his 'ready-prove-you-wrong-tone'. Sally looked at him and counted one her fingers as she spoke.

"One: When you picked me up the first thing that came out of your mouth was about how you locked Casey in her room this morning for half an hour and how _hilarious_ it was listening to her yell at you through the door. Two: when we passed the football field you started going on about how Casey's dating another football player and her bad taste in guys." She sat back and Derek's form stiffened.

"Oh." He said, realizing she was right. "Sorry." Sally shrugged.

"This isn't the first time, Derek. Like last week when we went bowling? All of a sudden every time I see you or every place we go there's always something you have to say about Casey. About something you did to Casey or something Casey did or how she's such a bookworm or how her choice in boyfriends couldn't get any worse or--"

"That's a valid point, though. Every guy she dates somehow turns out to be more of an idiot than the one before-"

"You know what Derek?" Sally snapped. "Since she's obviously on your mind so much, and since you think you know what kind of guy she should date, why don't you just date her?" And with that Sally got out of the car and stormed off down the street. Derek sat there for a moment not sure how to react before he got out and followed her down the street.

"Sally, c'mon, get back in the car. We'll talk about whatever you want, I promise. We'll the Chinese Food!" Sally stopped and turned around, letting Derek catch up to her. They stood in silence for a moment.

"I want to believe that, Derek. Really, I do."

"Then why don't you?" She tilted her head slightly and looked at him.

"I don't think I can." Sally replied. Derek opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I probably should have realized it when I first met her, or when I saw how you two are with each other, but she was trying so hard to help us get together…" She shook her head and gave Derek a small smile. "I think maybe we need a break. Just…call me when you've figured this all out, okay? I can wait." She kissed him on the cheek and then she was gone. Derek just stood there, not understanding at all what had just happened.

--

When Derek got home, George was sitting on the couch with Marti watching TV.

"Smerek!" She exclaimed, jumping down from the couch and running over to give him a hug. "Come watch TV with me." Derek smiled down at her.

"Hey Smarti. Thanks for the invite, but I'm kinda busy; can I take a rain check?" Marti shrugged.

"Sure," and with that she was back on the couch. George, who was sitting next to her, was looking at Derek.

"You're home early." Derek paused as he took his jacket off.

"It's been known to happen." He shrugged and started for the stairs.

"Everything okay?" George asked. "How's Sally?" Derek stopped in his tracks.

"Yes. Everything's _fine_." He said without turning around. Without waiting for an answer he went upstairs.

Derek opened the door to his room and was about to walk in when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Hey, I thought you were out." He didn't have to look to see who it was.

"Yeah, I was. Now I'm home. It's usually what happens after you go out. You go home. Then you go to your room where people leave you alone." From the corner of his eye he saw Casey leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes looking right at him. She didn't look mad, more like she was…concerned? Seeing her face Derek, surprisingly, started to feel bad. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's fine." She started fidgeting with her hair. It was almost…cute, the way she did that. "Are you okay?" Derek turned to face her, his eyebrows raised in question. She turned a light shade of pink. "I mean…are you and Sally okay? Isn't that where you were?" Derek figured it was going to come up at some point.

"We're, um…okay." He crossed his arms. "Decided to take a break. Whatever." Casey looked up at him.

"What? Derek, what happened? You guys were doing so well."

"It's not really you're business, now is it Casey?" Derek said, trying to keep appearances. The last thing he needed was Casey finding out why he and Sally broke up or for her to think he was actually upset. Especially since he wasn't sure if Sally was right about the whole thing. It was at that moment he realized that Casey was dressed to go out. "You going somewhere?" He asked, glancing her short skirt and hoping the answer wasn't what he thought it would be.

"It's not really your business, now is it?" She smirked and went back into her room, closing the door behind her. Derek considered following her, but instead went downstairs.

"Dad, where's Casey going?" Marti was asleep, but George was still watching TV. Some cartoons to be exact. He quickly flipped channels.

"Out with that football guy, Josh. Why?" He replied, eyes still on the TV.

"Because she looks _ridiculous_." Derek responded, just as Casey came downstairs. "And Josh is a thoughtless moron." Derek never really liked any of Casey's boyfriends, but Josh was especially revolting. He didn't have a mind of his own, not to mention his lack of respect for girls, not to mention people in general.

"Just because you and Sally aren't together doesn't mean the rest of us can't go out and have fun." Casey shot at him.

"Wait, Derek, you and Sally broke up?" George asked, breaking away from the TV.

"That's not the point." He looked at Casey. "What fun is there is in going out with a person like Josh "the tool" Marshall, yet another blockhead from the football team?" Casey rolled her eyes, but before she could respond a car horn beeped a couple times.

"That would be for me. You guys have a nice night at home." The last part directed to Derek, Casey gave one last victorious smirk and then she was gone.


	2. Saying What I Think You

Derek was sitting in the living room hardly 20 minutes before deciding that if he didn't find something to do soon he would go crazy. He called Sam, and 15 minutes later Derek picked him up. They ended up cruising around the city and Derek told him what happened with Sally. Well, most of it. He didn't tell Sam what they argued about, just that they'd had an argument. After a while they ended up stopping for pizza. While they ate, Derek started thinking about Sally and what she said about Casey.

"Hey, Sam," Derek began. "can I get your opinion on something?"

"Sure, what's up?" Sam paused, taking a sip from his soda. "Is it Sally? Cause I'm sure you two can fix whatever it is you've done." Derek straightened up in his chair.

"No. Well, kind of." He cleared this throat. "See, Sally accused me of giving most of my attention…to Casey," He couldn't believe he was saying this. "and constantly talking about her."

"Okay," Sam said, not appearing to think much of it. "So?"

"So?" Derek replied. "That's it? 'So?' Sally accused" Sam shrugged and took a bite of his pizza.

"What do you want me to say, D? It's more or less the truth." Derek started at him for a moment, then leaned forward on the table.

"Excuse me?" Sam nodded like it was something Derek should have known.

"Well, yeah. I mean, if you're not making fun of something she's done, you're thinking of ways to mess with her or annoy her. Add in actually acting out whatever you've decided to do to her and all you've got time for is sleep. Maybe food." He saw the look on Derek's face. "Don't worry about it, man. It's nothing new."

"Wait…what?"

"About you and Casey."

It took Derek a minute or so to fully understand what Sam had said. He tried to speak, but all his mouth did was open and close a few times, making Derek look like a fish.

"Sam," Derek started once he regained his composure. "If you're saying what I think you're saying…"

"What I'm saying is exactly what you should think I'm saying."

"Sam." Derek said in a serious tone. "You're suggesting that I…that me and _Casey…_" He ran a hand through his hair. "What would make you think that?" Sam laughed and shook his head.

"You know, had you asked me about this when I first met Casey I would probably have had a similar reaction, but let's face it. Look at how your relationship with Casey has changed since she moved in. I didn't really notice it at first, but even I saw it after me and Casey broke up. You two have gotten pretty close."

"We have our moments, I guess, but **everyone** has moments."

"Yours and Casey's just happen to be full of tension." Derek shot him a glare.

"Dude, it's not funny. I mean…she's my step-sister."

"So what? You didn't grow up with her or anything and you're not related. You're family is like a messed up version of the Brady Bunch. You know, actually, I think Marcia and Greg got together in one of the movies so you're not the only one." Sam laughed.

"That doesn't help me. At all." Derek sighed in frustration, putting his head in his hands. "This is so weird. The last I felt anything at all like this was when Lizzie's old soccer coach was cheating on Casey; I found out and it drove me crazy knowing and not telling her."

"So, yes? You like her?" Sam inquired.

"I don't know!" Derek exclaimed, almost knocking over his drink.

"Okay, fine. Bu can you just explain the constant teasing and stuff? I know why you started, but still. Even I have to admit that the only reason I can think of to cause _that_ much trouble with the amount of planning you put into it is some kind of affection." Derek thought about it.

"I guess…it just became part of the routine." He said softly. "I mean, me and Case, we have our own way of doing things, but that's how we are and that's how we get through the day." He sighed and then, after a minute, stood up. "It's getting late, we should probably go."

"Alright." Sam smiled. "Don't worry, man, you'll figure it out."

Derek, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.

**--**

When he got home Derek closed the front door harder than he should have, tossed his jacket on the floor and sighed. The house was dark and quiet. Everyone was probably asleep. He'd probably get told off for coming in so late in the morning, but he didn't care. He slowly walked upstairs and would have gone right to bed had he not heard the muffled sobs coming from the room next to his; Casey's room. Had something happened while she was out with Josh? Derek stopped and stared at the door for a minute; Sally and Sam had really gotten him thinking.

Derek's feelings were tangled up in confusion, but he wanted to know why Casey was crying. Instead he walked up to her door and knocked softly on it. The sobbing stopped.

"Casey?" He asked, eyes dropping to the floor. "You okay?" He heard her sniffling and shuffling around the room, but she wasn't coming to the door. "Case?" He asked again. After again receiving no reply, he grabbed the door handle and entered the room, welcomed or not, which was what he usually did. Casey was curled up on her bed, wearing sweatpants and a big t-shirt, eyes red and puffy, surrounded by kleenex. She was looking down, fingers playing with a kleenex. Derek took a couple steps in, hands stuffed in his pockets. "You okay? Case? What happened?"

Casey took a deep breath and finally looked up at him. She had tears running down her cheeks and looked exhausted.; probably from all the crying.

"No, you're just going to rub it in my face, and I really don't need that right now." said Casey, obviously trying to sound like she had more emotional strength than she actually did at that moment. Derek walked over to her bed and sat down.

"Case, I'm not going to rub whatever it is in your face. I promise." He assured her, handing her a kleenex. "Not in the mood." She took it and blew her nose.

"Josh and I…broke up." Before the second half of the sentence began she broke out into sobs again and buried her face in her hands. Derek's face hardened at the mention of Josh. From the beginning Derek hadn't liked him, but the thought just made him think of what Sally said.

"I'm sorry, Case." Before he realized what he was doing, Derek pulled Casey into a hug. It wasn't a family moment hug, though, it was a tight embrace that had the power to hold a person together. She hugged him back, and they stayed that way until Derek finally became aware of what he was doing, since he had always refused to hug Casey when she offered, and pulled away. "Um…yeah." he said as he stood up, running a hand through his hair. "Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah." She . "I think I'll be alright. Thanks." There were traces of a faint smile on her face.

"Okay, well, I'm…gonna…go. To my room, uh, if you need me." She nodded.

He left Casey, who had a mixed look of confusion and 'he's-not-such-a-jerk-after-all' on her face, and went right to his room. He wasn't sure what to think. Did he, Derek Venturi, have feelings for….Casey?

"No. No way." Derek tried to convince himself as he was falling asleep. Everything was going through his head like a mental battle when he realized that what Sam and Sally had said may not have been completely false. "Oh man." He said as he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.


	3. Nothing That Would Interest You

_Disclaimer: I realized I hadn't put one up yet, so here it goes...Unfortunately, I don't own Life With Derek. It'd be pretty cool if I did though._

--

When Derek woke up the next morning, it took him a few minutes to remember everything that had happened the night before. Between Sally's accusation, Sam's explanation, the awkward moment with Casey, Derek wasn't sure if he could handle anything else. He looked at his clock; 10:42. Not bad, considering it was Saturday. Rolling out of bed, he decided to get some breakfast. When he got downstairs, he saw Lizzie and Edwin were in the living room and Nora and George were in the kitchen. Casey, he noticed, was nowhere to be found. Neither was Smarti, but he figured she was playing over at a friend's house.

"Morning'," He mumbled, grabbing a box of cereal out of the cupboard.

"Look to decided to grace us with his presence," George said, looking up at Derek. "And where you that you came in so late last night?" Derek rolled his eyes; he'd seen this coming.

"I was out with Sam; we were just hanging out, I lost track of time. Sorry." Derek replied simply. He started to eat his cereal in silence, and after a minute or so, looked around. "So, where's Space Case?" He asked. "It's unusually quiet around here."

"_Casey_ woke up early and took Marti to the mall." Nora replied before pausing. "She seemed a little depressed, though; you don't happen to know if something happened, do you?" Derek hesitated for only half a second.

"Nope, haven't heard a thing. But knowing Casey, she was probably upset over her homework or whatever she usually freaks out about." He finished his cereal before he could be questioned further, and got dressed. As he was coming back downstairs, the doorbell rang. Seeing that noone else was going to get it, Derek opened the door to find Emily standing there.

"Hey Derek," she said, smiling.

"Hey," He responded. "Uh, Casey's not here." As he said this, Emily's smile faded.

"Oh." She paused. "Um, you haven't talked to her by any chance, have you?" She asked, looking slightly worried. A look of confusion and concern spread across Derek's face.

"If you mean about last night…" He sighed. "Yeah. Briefly. Why?" Emily started fidgeting with her hands.

"What exactly did she tell you?" Derek began to get a little anxious; he didn't like how **any** of this was sounding.

"Emily, did something happen that I know about?" Emily made a pained face upon hearing how serious he was; she obviously knew something. "Spit it out. Now."

"She called me last night, after she got back. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. From what she told me, things got pretty rough at the party." Derek's eyes flashed. _Party?_ Casey didn't say anything about going to a party last night.

"Casey went to a party?" Derek asked and Emily hesitated. "It's too late now, I know now, so you might as well finish." By this point Emily was looking everywhere but at Derek. She knew he wouldn't let her leave until she told him, or he'd go and ask Casey. Neither were great options, but Emily decided she might as well. She'd rather him get upset at her than if Casey told him.

"Well…I guess Josh had a few drinks…and wanted to party a little harder than he already was." Derek's form stiffened, and Emily, noticing, blurted the rest of the sentence out. "But Casey didn't want to. They got into a fight, and apparently Josh and his friends were ganging up on her, teasing her and stuff. Casey got really upset so she left." Before Derek could say anything in response, a car pulled into the driveway; Casey was home.

"Emily, I'll have her call you." He said, not taking his eyes off the car. "I need to talk to her first." Emily paused before she nodded and turned to walk home. Derek watched Casey and Marti get out of the car and walk up to the house, each holding a shopping bag or two. When Marti saw him, her face lit up and she ran over.

"Smerek!" She yelled as she reached him. "Smerek, look what I got!"

"Hey Smarti," He said, not being able to help but smile at her excitement. "What'd you get?" She held her bag open to reveal a teddy bear wearing a ballet outfit.

"Isn't she awesome?! I made her!!" Marti squealed, glowing with pride. Derek laughed.

'That's awesome, Smarti." She giggled and ran into the house. He could hear her inside yelling "Daddy! Look what I made!"

Derek shook his head and looked up to see Casey walking up to him. She looked tired, her skin was a littler paler than usual, and it worried him.

"Hey," He said as she approached.

"Hi." She replied. Derek cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Casey--" He started, but she cut him off.

"If this is about last night, I really don't want to talk about it, okay?" She interrupted, crossing her arms. Derek just looked at her and realized he wasn't angry at her; if anything, he found he was hurt that she didn't feel like she could talk to him about things like this.

"Case, I know what happened. Emily told me what you conveniently left out." Her eyes got wider. "Why didn't you tell me?" Casey tilted her head slightly, as if looking at Derek from another angle would make a difference.

"That's…really sweet of you, Derek." She said as she straightened up. "But I can take care of myself, and I can handle a group of rowdy boys." Derek gave her a questioning look, remembering her crying last night. The same thought seemed to have crossed Casey's mind, and she suddenly blushed. Though he was tempted to tease her over this sudden self-awareness, Derek didn't.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She was looking at her feet. "None of those guys…"

"No." She quickly interjected. "Nothing like that." Casey lifted her head and looked at him. "Really, Derek, I'm okay. A bit shaken, but okay." He nodded slightly.

"Well...I'm around. If you need to talk…or someone willing to run some football players over with his car." Casey gave a small laugh. "And as a bonus, from now on you tell me what _actually_ happens when a guy or his friends are jerks to you, okay?" Derek raised both his eyebrows at her, referring to how she purposely left out the numerous details during their talk last night. Casey studied him for a moment, and Derek felt his cheeks turning red.

"Okay." She finally said, and she started walking to go inside. Derek was quick to follow.

"So, what about you?" He asked with a small smirk. "Marti got herself a new stuffed animal; what'd you get?" Casey shook her head and smiled to herself.

"Nothing that would interest you," She teased, bumping shoulders with him.

--

**Thanks for all the reviews and positive feedback guys! I really appreciate it. Sorry it took an extra day or so to get this chapter up; the next one will be up really soon, and that's were things will really get interesting (I'm thinking Derek and Josh will meet face-to-face).**


	4. Morning, Princess

Sunday was shaping up to be an uneventful day at the McDonald/Venturi household. Derek was up in his room listening to music and skimming a magazine when someone started pounding on his door. Before he even had a chance to go to the door, he heard a voice.

"DER-EK!!" Casey shouted, not surprising Derek at all. He walked over to the door.

"Yes, Princess, what can I do for you?" It didn't surprise him that since their conversation yesterday things were at least semi-normal. It'd been a day or two since Casey and Derek had argued, and Derek decided that, even though he was realizing how much he cared about Casey, their relationship wouldn't be the same if they didn't argue. Not to mention it would seem weird if he was suddenly nice to her all time, and pranks made life more interesting.

So he fixed it.

He just happened to do it by taking all of her make-up and writing "Morning Princess" on her mirror with her lipstick. And he may or may not have been the one to put the bucket of water over her door.

When Derek opened the door, he had to fight with every fiber of his being from laughing. Casey was standing there, soaked from head to toe, looking as angry as ever.

"You are so immature," She said, pushing past him into his room. "Where's my make-up? And you're buying me a new lipstick, got it?" He stood by his door, arms crossed, looking at her. Even though she was soaked, and even though she was beyond pissed off, he realized she was as pretty as ever. Her face was pink, and her hair, which was starting to dry, was down around her face and starting to curl on it's own. But his thoughts were cut short. "DER-EK!" Derek came back to reality.

"If you weren't completely soaked," He said, not being able to withhold his laughter an longer, "I wouldn't give this back, but since I can't have you leaving a big puddle in the middle of my room," He said as he went to his desk, opened one of the drawers and pulled out Casey's make-up bag. "Here." Derek tossed the bag to Casey. "Now, if you'd kindly leave." He moved back to his desk.

"You're such a jerk!" Casey yelled one final time before walking out and slamming his door. Derek simply smiled. Yup, things were back to normal.

--

A few hours later Derek decided to go downstairs and see what was going on. There was a game on that night that he refused to miss. He walked out of his room, but before he knew his foot touched something slippery and he was on the floor. He stayed that way for a few minutes before sitting up, rubbing his back, and looking to see what he'd slipped on. A plastic bag that someone had poured water on. Right in front of his door. Not exactly genius work, but not that bad. It had worked, anyway. Casey was slowly getting better at pranks; but she was learning from the best, so what else could be expected?

Suddenly, the door of the room next to his opened, and Casey stepped out. She had a big smile on her face.

"You okay there, _Der?_" She asked, laughing. "I'd be careful if I was you; you wouldn't want people to think you were the next klutzilla."

"Yeah, but if I did that what would you do?" Derek replied sarcastically, getting up slowly. "'Princess' isn't much of a occupation." Casey rolled her eyes and went back into her room. Derek picked up the plastic bag, which somehow still had water on it, and managed to spill it on himself.

--

That Monday things seemed to be completely back on track. Derek hadn't called Sally; he'd actually thought about it and decided a break was a good thing. Besides, he was still figuring out all things Casey. He had seriously started thinking that maybe Sally and Sam were right. Derek was at his locker when, speak of the devil, Sam came up to him.

"Hey, D, how's it going?" He asked, leaning on the locker next to Derek's. "Any progress with the whole Case--"

"Dude, keep it down." Derek interrupted. "That isn't exactly something I'd like to spread around, okay?" Sam didn't seem to get this concept.

"Alright, if you say so. But it's not like people haven't guessed--"

"Excuse me?" Derek slammed his locker closed. Sam shrugged. This was Friday night all over again.

"Nothing. Just that the way you two are, and not just with each other. How you both constantly talk about the other…sometimes people wonder." Sam replied.

"Do you think you could maybe, I don't know, _tell_ me about this stuff, Sam?" Derek asked, wondering if Sam was hiding any other fun facts. This was Friday night all over again.

"Sorry, man. I figured you'd get all, well, how you are now. Going just a little crazy." Just as Derek was about to respond, they heard someone walking by.

"Yeah, so I try to ease her into the idea of having some **real **fun and she totally flips out on me. I figure it was cause we were in a crowd so I try to bring her upstairs, but still nothing. My friends get a laugh out of it, she gets mad and we fight, the guys lay the facts out for her and she freaked out and left. Probably ended up crying herself all the way home, but it doesn't matter. I got some anyway." Of course, it was Josh, talking to his friends. Derek pushed past Sam.

"Derek, don't start--" Sam started, but Derek kept going.

"Josh." Derek called out; Josh turned around and smiled.

"Derek, what's-"

"I heard what happened between you and Casey." Josh paused, the smile only gone for a second.

"Oh. Yeah, _that_. Rough stuff, you know? I just feel bad cause you have to live with her." He started laughing, but stopped at the look on Derek's face. "You alright man?" Derek straightened himself up.

"Fine." He said. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you, and your friends, to stay away from Casey." It looked at though Josh didn't understand what Derek had said; it took him a moment or so to respond.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. No one, especially no one she dates, is going treat her like that." Josh just stared at him for a moment.

"Do I need to say it slower for you, Josh?" Derek said. "Leave her alone."

"So, what, are you gonna start deciding who she dates?" Josh replied, giving a short, disbelieving laugh.

"No, but I am going to keep her away from creeps like you." He paused, not being able to help himself. "At least the entire football team. She deserves better." Josh had stopped laughing, and he took a step toward Derek.

"You got a problem with my team, Venturi?" Although he was truly tempted, and despite having numerous replies to that question ,they would probably end up having the entire football team kicking his ass. For once, Derek kept his remarks to himself.

"I don't want trouble." Derek stated. "Just to tell you--"

"To stay away from Casey. Yeah, I heard you the first time." Josh replied. "But, uh, what would happen if I was thinking of giving her a call and making up? Are you gonna beat me up or something?" Josh gave Derek a slight push. "Anyway, she'd come crawling back to me before I finished asking her." Derek did his best to kept himself from punching Josh.

"Just stay away from her, okay? There are plenty of other girls around." Derek moved to walk away.

"And if I don't?" Derek stopped and turned around.

"Then you'll deal with me." Josh crossed his arms.

"You know, I didn't think you were serious, but I guess I was wrong. I didn't think you cared that much about-" Josh stopped himself and comprehension spread across his face. "Oh. Oh, wait. I get it." He took a step back and spread his arms wide, as if controlling traffic, and yelled down the hallway. "Everyone stay away from **Casey McDonald**." Josh looked at Derek. "Cause she's **Derek Venturi's girl**, and you'll have to deal with him if you go near her." Her dropped his arms. "Isn't that right, Derek?"

"Shut up, Josh." Derek said, his cheeks now revealing a faint shade of pink.

"Why don't you make me." And before anyone knew it, Derek had Josh pushed up against a wall.

"Stay away from her before I consider taking you up on that offer. Got it?" Then, all of a sudden, Casey was there, walking down the hallway.

"What's going on? Derek? Josh?" She asked, half demanding and half unsure, eyes full of concern. Derek let go of Josh, who took a few steps back.

"Your bodyguard was making his rounds." Josh snarled. He looked at Derek. "See you around, _Venturi_." Derek heard nothing but a threat in his tone, and watched him walk off. Casey turned to Derek.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just drop it." Derek replied, not looking at her.

"But--"

"Gotta go. See you later." Derek walked off, leaving Sam and a confused Casey standing there watching him go.


	5. Why Are You So Overprotective?

For the rest of the day Derek did his best to avoid having a conversation with Casey. He wasn't sure what she'd heard or if Sam had said anything to her, but knowing Sam the minute Casey started asking questions and interrogating him he probably caved. Which was why he didn't want to talk to Casey; if Sam had told her any part of what he'd told Derek…well, Derek was coming to terms with his feelings for Casey. He was realizing more and more that it wasn't just how fun it was pulling pranks on her or teasing her; Casey challenged Derek and kept him on his feet, and he enjoyed it. He realized that he did the things he did because he knew she wouldn't back down; she would fight back.

When he found himself telling Josh and his friends to stay away from Casey and actually standing up for her, saying it out loud…it felt right. And even though he would never admit it to _anyone_, hearing Josh call Casey "Derek's Girl" sounded good to him. But there was his other problem: Josh. Derek was only slightly worried that Josh might come back for a round 2 of their almost-fight this morning. He didn't want any sort of confrontation with Josh, whether it be a fight or Josh going around calling Casey "Derek's Girl". Casey would hear about it somehow, and Derek wasn't sure he wanted to know how that would go. He had no idea whether or not Casey felt the same way. Derek didn't even realize what was right in front of him until Sally and Sam pointed it out. Then again, Casey was more in tune with her feelings than Derek was, so maybe she'd already realized what was going on. But then why hadn't she done anything? Or maybe Casey just didn't have feelings for Derek. Whatever the case, Derek didn't want to deal with it right now.

And that is why, for the first time in his life, Derek Venturi, **the **Derek Venturi, was planning on spending lunch in the bathroom, away from everyone else.

He'd almost made it there, too.

"DER-EK!!" He'd wasn't completely surprised; part of him had expected that she'd come after him at some point. But there was something different this time; she didn't sound like she wanted to rip his head off. This time, she sounded like she just wanted to get his attention. Derek slowed down but didn't completely stop. "Derek?" Casey asked, catching up to him and grabbing his arm so he'd stop and face her.

"Yeah, Space-Case?" Derek said, trying to sound as calm and collected as possible.

"Derek, you almost got into a **fight**! With Josh! What happened?" Just as Derek was about to reply, he realized something.

"You don't know?" He asked, confused. Casey shook her head. "I figured you would've interrogated Sam about it." Casey rolled her eyes.

"I tried to ask him, but he just said I should talk to you." Derek just looked at her. He'd expected every possibility other than Sam **not** telling to Casey about what happened and, instead, directing her to him. "So you're going to tell me."

"Excuse me?" Derek scoffed. "Now why would I do that?"

"Because I **will** find out eventually, and I'd rather hear it from you." She looked at him and it was clear that she wanted to know and she wasn't going to let this go until he told her. Derek ran a hand through his hair. This wasn't exactly how he wanted to have this conversation, he'd rather not have it at all, but he didn't have any plans for lunch anyway. Besides, talking to Casey beat sitting in a bathroom by himself.

"I heard Josh talking about you and the party, and he was being especially obnoxious, so I told him to stop." He took in a breath. "To, you know…leave you alone." Derek paused. "He got a little upset about it, but I took care of it. It's fine." Casey's face softened.

"You got into a fight with Josh over…" Her voice drifted off.

"Josh and his friends making you cry." Derek finished the sentence for her. He hated seeing her cry.

"Yeah." She looked slightly uncomfortable. "Sam did said you were being really…" Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Wait a second. You said you didn't talk to Sam." He paused. "What did he say?"

"Protective." Casey finished, and Derek saw her cheeks become slightly pink. There was silence for the next few moments. "He said you were being really protective. And I didn't talk to him; when I asked him what happened, he said to ask you why you were so overprotective."

"Oh." That was not something easily answered, but as usual Casey always challenged Derek, whether she knew it or not.

"So." She asked. "Why _are_ you so overprotective?" Derek froze. He tried to think of what to say, how he could word it so Casey would understand, but he didn't need to.

"I'm surprised you haven't realized it by now." Josh was by himself. He walked up to Derek and Casey, who were facing each other.

"Realized what?" Casey asked. Josh grinned.

"This guy almost fights your ex over you, and you don't think twice about it?" He removed his arm and stood up straight. Casey looked at though he was calculating an equation in her head. "But I guess if you can overlook him that easily, I can too." Derek felt his fists clench, and he tried his best to hold himself back. "So listen, Casey, I was wondering if you wanted to give things another shot?" Derek looked at Josh. There was no way he was serious, and it appeared Casey felt the same way by the look on her face.

"Are you serious?" She asked as if it was the most ridiculous thing ever said. It was a tone she often used with Derek. "If you, for one **second**, think that I'd ever consider going out with you again after what you and your stupid friends did--"

"Hey, Casey, c'mon," Josh insisted, taking a step toward her as he gave Derek a glance and put an arm around Casey. "I'm sure we can work things out."

"No." Casey shot at him, removing his arm from her shoulder. "I don't want to work things out you. It's not worth it." As Josh prepared to make another try, Derek took his opportunity.

"She said she didn't want to, Josh. Leave her alone." Derek stepped between Josh and Casey, and Josh looked as though he seriously consider pounding Derek's face in.

"Is it me, Venturi, or have we had this conversation before?" This time, Josh pushed Derek against the wall. "Now, if I want to talk to Casey, I'll talk to Casey, got it? So stay out of it and keep your little crush to yourself." There it was. Josh had said it, and Derek couldn't do anything to change that. He glanced at Casey; she looked surprised…but she didn't look unhappy. Josh let go of Derek and started to turn back to Casey. '_That_ was a bad idea' Derek thought as he grabbed Josh and pushed him in the opposite direction. He stood in front of Casey, not sure what his next move was. Josh almost fell, but managed to straighten himself out. He turned around, looking angrier than ever.

"Stupid move, Venturi," he said as he started toward Derek, who had no idea what to do.

"Casey," he glanced at her, "go."

"Derek--"

"Go!"

"No." She said, crossing her arms and looked at him like she knew better. Absentmindedly, Derek turned around to face her.

"Casey, stop being stubborn and go, okay? I don't want you involved with this." It was like any of their other arguments: loud, frustrating, and capable of tuning out the rest of the world.

"I don't care, Derek. Violence in not the answer and I'm not about to--" But before she could finish, Josh had grabbed Derek. He was spinning Derek around to face him, and Derek knew what was coming so he did the only thing he could think of to stop it.

He punched Josh. Hard.

The spinning added to the force of the punch, and Josh fell back, grabbing his eye. Derek stared for a moment, before realizing what exactly had just happened.

"Let's go, Casey." She was staring at Josh too, so Derek grabbed her hand and started to lead her away. "Case, c'mon, let's get out of here."


	6. You've Officially Turned Me Into A Sap

"Derek, slow down!" Casey asked as she was yanked along. They were a good few hallways away from where they'd left Josh, but Derek was pulling her along with him like his life depended on it. After hearing no response, Casey had enough. She abruptly stopped in her tracks and Derek, from the force, almost knocked into her.

"Space Case, would you mind watching what you're doing?" Derek shot at her, straightening himself up.

"Oh, my apologies, Derek. Next time I'll let you pull my arm _out of it's socket._" Casey snapped. Derek paused; he had overreacted a little.

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just I'd rather not give good-ole Josh back there the opportunity to repay me for what I just did to his face." He gestured back to the way they'd come from. "Not that it matters. He was ugly before I hit him." Derek couldn't help but smirk; he'd sent a football player falling to the ground after all. Maybe today wasn't so bad. Casey cleared her throat. "Anyway," he looked around and spotted an empty classroom across the hall. "I say we let things cool down a bit before we head back." He walked over and opened the door, gesturing for Casey to go in. She hesitated, then entered.

It was an older classroom, obviously going through some sort of cleaning or renovation. There were paint-spattered sheets on the floor, and a few cans of paint with brushes scattered about. There was one larger desk, obviously for the teacher, and the student desks were stacked on one side of the room. It would do. They didn't want to attract any attention by turning the lights on, and besides, there was enough light coming through the windows.

"Well," Derek said after a few moments. "I guess we'll stay here for a bit?" He turned to Casey.

"I guess." She replied, looking around the classroom. "But we can't skip the rest of our classes, our teachers will notice. And I have **never** skipped a class. Ever."

"Not to mention I'm sure Josh will rat me the second he gets the chance, and hiding out isn't great for the whole innocence factor." Derek didn't see anything good coming out of Josh going to the principal with a black eye telling him Derek had punched him. There wasn't any way to prove Josh had threatened him, especially since the principal didn't exactly find Derek's word one-hundred percent reliable. Casey, however, didn't seem to be thinking about that right now.

"We can deal with that later." She murmured, looking out one of the windows. She looked like she wanted to say something, glanced at Derek briefly, but hesitated. It was like she was having a battle with herself, and Derek had a feeling he knew why: what Josh had said before. He suddenly became self-conscious, and walked over to the desks.

"Want a seat?" He asked, motioning to the desks. She looked over to him and gave a small smile, which was comforting.

"Um, sure." Derek grabbed one of the desks off the pile and put it down for her before grabbing one for himself. "Thanks," she said, sitting down. "Derek?" Casey asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, Spacey?" He replied, looking up. She was fidgeting with her hair.

"You didn't answer my question before." He gave her a questioning look. "About why you're so protective." Ah, _that _question. Derek hadn't expected it; he'd actually forgotten about it altogether. But Casey should have known the answer to that, shouldn't she? Josh had basically laid it all out for her.

"Casey, you should already know--"

"Derek." Casey interrupted. "**You** didn't answer the question. I asked **you**, I want an answer from **you**."

Derek had no idea why she was doing this, but it was clear she wasn't going to stop asking him until he answered.

"Alright, alright." How was he suppose to word this right? He was back to the same problem he had with this question the first time he tried to answer it. "I guess I'm like that…because…" Derek stopped; there was really no right way to word it, was there? And even if there was a right way to do it, why would Derek do it? He never did things right, and he wasn't a thinker. Instead, he said the first thing that came to mind. "I care."

It was the truth; too bad it had to be something an emotional person would say. Derek inhaled deeply and glanced at Casey. She was just looking at him, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Look, Casey, I don't know, okay?" Derek got up and started walking around the room. "I thought I had _this_," he pointed back and forth between the two of them, "pretty much figured out, but lately…" He shrugged.

"So what Josh said is true?"

"Josh said a lot of things, Case. It's doesn't matter." He didn't understand why she was focusing so much on some stupid comment Josh had said to piss Derek off. Yes, maybe it was true, but that didn't mean he wanted the world to know.

"Yes it does matter." Casey persisted. "I want to know if it's true." Derek looked over at her and realized why this was different. She wasn't freaking out at him; there was no sarcasm, no jokes, nothing. All Casey cared about was finding out if Josh's comment about Derek's feelings was true. Did that mean that she possibly…?

"Casey, I--"

"Derek." Casey's voice became quieter as she got up and walked over to him. "Tell me the truth."

They were standing dangerously close to one another. Casey had her hands on her hips; she looked up at him, and Derek's chest tightened.

"The truth?"

"Yes."

The truth. Derek had a love-hate relationship with the truth. It usually involved doing the right thing, and Derek didn't always do the right thing. Then again, Casey was usually the exception to his rules and Derek was the exception to hers. Not to mention that telling the truth would change things between them no matter what Casey's response was. Was he ready for that? He locked eyes with Casey, and he realized that Sam was right. What they were when they first met was different from what they were now. Their relationship had changed, and Casey had become a constant in Derek's life. What would happen if he didn't have her around? That wasn't really something he wanted to think about. Derek closed his eyes and sighed.

"Thanks a lot, Space-Case. You've officially turned me into a sap." He said, finding himself fighting a smile. No, not his signature smirk; this was an actual smile.

"So, yes? It's true?" She asked, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

"What, am I being too subtle?" He asked. "Yes, Casey, I…like you." He hesitated slightly. "A lot, okay?" If it was at all possible, her smile got even brighter.

"Yeah. That's okay." Casey said, looking at him. She paused, thinking for a second. "I guess Emily was right." Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Emily was right about what?" He asked.

"Well, Emily brought…this…up a while ago." Derek's eyes widened. A _while_ ago? Was he really that oblivious? "After I started going out with Josh. We kept getting into fights about it, remember? I was talking to her about it one day, and she really got me thinking." She noticed the look on Derek's face. " I started to…but I didn't think…well, I didn't think anything would happen." Somehow it didn't surprise Derek that he was the last to know, even after Casey.

"Me neither," Derek replied. "But I'm kinda glad it did." Derek had surprised himself. Jeez, he really was turning into a sap.

"Me too." Casey said, and before Derek knew what he was doing, he was leaning down and if he didn't know better he was about to--

Be interrupted by the bell, signaling the end of lunch. Derek and Casey froze. They both were turning bright red, and Derek instantly straightened up, running a hand through his hair.

"I guess we should…uh…go." He said.

"Yeah. I guess we should." Casey sighed. They starting walking out of the classroom, and the by the time they reached the door their hands had somehow become intertwined. Derek glanced down when he felt her hand in his, but didn't pull away.

They made it down the hall and turned a corner when they came face-to-face with their Principal, and standing next to him, his left eye puffing up and bruising, was Josh.


	7. They Made Her Cry, Sir

"Ah, Mr. Venturi. I've been looking for you." The Principal said, giving them a look revealing that he was not too happy, and Josh stood there smirking. "I have some questions I need to ask you concerning Mr. Marshall here." He motioned to Josh, who suddenly dropped the smirk and started playing up his injury. "Please follow me to my office where we'll discuss this issue. Ms. MacDonald, you're going to be late for your class."

"Sir--" Derek started, but the Principal cut him off.

"Mr. Venturi, I have been informed that you punched Mr. Marshall during the lunch period for no reason. I need to further investigate the issue, and if you refuse to come with me I'll be forced to give punishment here and now." Derek nodded slightly in response. He had a bad feeling about this; how much trouble would he get into? There was no doubt Josh had milked the story for all it was worth and made it sound worse than it was. Suddenly, he felt his hand being squeezed; Casey was still by him.

"I'll meet you at the office, okay? Just tell him the truth and you'll be alright." She whispered, giving him a comforting smile. She had a determined look on her face and a sparkle in her eye, which meant she was up to something. But before Derek could ask her what she was doing, Casey gave his hand another squeeze and was off, speed walking down the hallway.

The walk to the office was completely silent, and some students who hadn't gone to their classes yet were staring and whispering to each other. Derek figured they were trying to figure out what had happened, and to be honest he didn't really care if they knew. Derek had punched Josh; he didn't want to, but he had to protect himself, and more importantly there was no way he was going to let _anyone_ lay a hand on Casey. He'd willingly admit that; he just wasn't sure if the Principal would believe him. When they reached the office, the Principal told Josh to take a seat and wait while he talked to Derek.

Derek had never liked the Principal's office. Sure, he'd been there a good few times, but that didn't mean he enjoyed making the trip. He took a seat in front of the large desk, and the Principal sat in his own big cushioned chair, fingers tapping together as he studied Derek.

How was he going to explain this?

"So, Mr. Venturi, would you like to tell me what happened?" The Principal began. "Did Mr. Marshall make a comment about your team? Were you in the mood to 'mess' with a football player again?" He thought this was a sports issue. Okay, yeah, Derek had caused some trouble in the past, especially with the football team; he knew that. But this time was different.

"No." Derek replied. "It wasn't like that at all."

"Then what was it like?"

"Well…it had nothing to do with the football team."

"Alright, Mr. Venturi, what did it have to do with?" The unpleasant knot in Derek's stomach got bigger.

"I guess is you really wanted to know…" He cleared his throat. Casey had told him to tell the truth. He might as well give it a shot. "The truth is…it was about Casey." The Principal sat up.

"Ms. McDonald? Your step-sister?" He inquired, his eyebrows raising slightly.

"That's right, Casey." Derek replied. _Okay, here goes._ "See, she was dating Josh. That is, until they broke up over the weekend because they got in a fight and he and his friends…." He sat up. "They made her **cry**, Sir. I hate it when she cries. When she cries, there is no peace." Realizing he was probably talking about her crying a little too long, Derek moved on. "Anyway, this morning, I heard Josh talking about the party and the whole thing with Case so I asked him to stop and stay away from her. He--"

"You and Mr. Marshall had another altercation this morning?" The Principal asked. Josh had obviously not mentioned it to him.

"I wouldn't call it an _altercation_ exactly. He didn't like that I was telling him to stay away from Casey, and things became a little heated when he started going on about me and Casey like--"

"What about you and Ms. MacDonald?" Derek paused. Now _this_ was not something he wanted to get into, especially not with his Principal.

"Nothing. Well, no. I mean…me and Casey…" Derek was never really one with words. "About how close me and Case are." '_Tell the truth Derek._' was all he could hear ringing in his head. "Recent events have caused me to discover that I tend to get very…protective…of Casey." He shrugged. "Josh just didn't like that I was telling him what to do, and maybe I did go a little overboard by momentarily pushing him up against a locker, but I didn't do anything to him. He had no business going near her again anyway, and by what he was saying he didn't seem to have any plans to stay away from her. If he went near her again, I can assure you there would be crying! And I hate it--"

"When she cries. Yes, I understand that." The Principal paused; he looked as though he wasn't quite sure how to handle this. "So, you were trying to keep Mr. Marshall away from Ms. MacDonald? _That's_ how this fight started?" And people said chivalry was dead.

"I guess."

"Alright, alright. So what happened this afternoon?"

"Well, I was walking down the hall when Casey found me. She started interrogating me, that thing she does when she knows something's up but--"

"Mr. Venturi." Derek stopped.

"Yeah?" He asked. "Uh, Sir."

"You can just skip ahead from you and Ms. MacDonald to the point when Mr. Marshall came into the picture." Derek, without meaning to, gave a small laugh. _Damn, Sally was right._

"Yeah…sorry." He bit his lip. "So, me and Casey were talking. Suddenly Josh shows up and before I know it he's trying to get back together with Casey like he didn't do anything to her. But you should have seen her; she shot him down like--" The look on the Principal's face made him stop. "She politely declined his offer, but he wasn't taking no for an answer, so I stepped in, trying to get him to back off. He pushed me up against a locker and I pushed him to get him off of me. While he's coming back for round two, I tell Casey to leave but she can be ridiculously stubborn sometimes so I got distracted. Josh grabbed me, and I was pretty sure he was going to rearrange my face, so I did what I, at the time, figured was the only way to get him off of me and away from her. I hit him. I didn't want to fight, but it's what I thought I had to do to keep him from hitting me or, more importantly, Casey." _Whew._ Derek took in a deep breathe. That had taken a lot out of him. He just hoped it would be enough.

"Well, that was quite the story you've come up with."

"No, not at all. It's not a story--"

"Then what is it?"

"The truth!"

"The truth?" The Principal scoffed. "That's never been your strong suite, Mr. Venturi." Derek straightened up.

"I decided to try it out." His mind flickered to Casey. "So far it's worked out really well for me. I was thinking of sticking with it, actually." The Principal just looked at him and sighed.

"This is an extremely difficult situation for me, Mr. Venturi. I would like to believe your story but it is extremely different from Mr. Marshall's, and by the record his story is more trustworthy." Derek couldn't believe this. _This _was how he was going to handle the situation? By records? And even if Derek was the honest one in the case, which he was, he was still going to be treated like he punched Josh for no reason? "However," the Principal continued, which caught Derek's attention. "I did have some suspicions concerning what Mr. Marshall told me, and you brought up the previous altercation from this morning, whereas Mr. Marshall did not mention it at all. That put questions into my mind."

"What exactly did, uh, _Mr. Marshall_ mention?" Derek couldn't resist asking. He wanted to know what lies Josh was spreading around. "Sir." After taking a moment to consider whether or not it was proper to say, the Principal replied.

"All I will say is that, compared to your…_detailed_ account of the events leading up to your hitting Mr. Marshall, his was short and direct. All in all, from his point of view, he was trying to talk to you and Ms. MacDonald and out of nowhere you lashed out at him, pushing him and punching him."

"You're not seriously going to believe _that_, are you?" Derek blurted out before he could stop himself. The Principal eyes narrowed, and Derek drew himself back. "I mean…I guess I understand the whole more trustworthy aspect, but, I mean, looking at both stories…you're going to believe his account over mine? I mean, first of all, what would he be talking to me and Casey about? Not to mention--"

"I'm going to ask that you kindly remember you are in the _Principal's Office _talking to your Principal, Mr. Venturi, and not hanging out at a friends house talking to one of your friends. You could get into a large amount of trouble for this and I would like you to take this seriously. Now--"

Just as he was about to continue, there was some loud speaking heard from in front of the Office, where the secretary was.

"Like I said, miss, you can't see him right now. He's with a student."

"Yes, I know he's with a student, which is why I'm here." Derek smiled as he recognized the voice: Casey.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in. You can take a seat and wait--"

"No, I can't wait! I need to go in now! Please." Derek felt bad for the secretary; Casey wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"It's alright, Casey. You can come sit next to me." Came Josh's voice in a mildly suggestive tone.

"Ew." Derek had to stop himself from laughing as Casey badmouthed this guy. "How many times do I have to tell you to, Josh? No. I don't want to sit near you, stand near you or go out with you. And , if it could be arranged, I'd prefer not talking to you either. Okay?" Her tone was condescending. Casey was starting to get aggressive, and Derek had no doubt things was going to get interesting fast.

"Miss, I'm really going to have to ask you to sit down." Interjected the secretary, and by the tone of her voice she was starting to get annoyed.

"And I'm really going to have to ask you to let me in to that office. I have to talk to the Principal. It's very important."

"I'm sorry but he is--"

"In with a student right now, yes, I am aware thank you. But I have evidence, statements, practically a case to defend that student in there from getting into trouble for something that wasn't his fault!" Without meaning to she started to rant. "He was just trying to protect me from _him,_" It was clear she had pointed to Josh from the offended grunt. "And even I thought he was going to get hurt for a moment, which would have been horrible but I have to prove he did what he did in self-defense so I need you to kindly let me into that--" Obviously Derek wasn't the only one who realized that Casey was starting to lose her cool when the Principal got up and opened his office door.

The three of them froze and turned to looked at the person in the doorway. Casey, her arms up and about in the air, probably to signify how important this was, papers in hand, hair starting to fall apart. The Secretary, who had her hands on her hips in annoyance, still had a sour look on her face even though she wasn't looking at Casey anymore. And Josh, who'd been sitting there, watching them like a tennis match, a slightly alarmed look on his face.

The Principal stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"What is going on out here?" He asked, and the secretary was first the speak.

"This young lady has been insisting on seeing you, sir, and I have been trying to explain you have been in a meeting with another student but--"

"Ms. MacDonald." At the sound of her name, Casey slowly dropped her arms, straightened out the papers she was holding and cleared her throat. "Can I help you?"

"Sir," Casey started, taking a couple steps forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, but what I need to talk to you about concerns Derek and what happened between him and Josh. I was there, I saw what happened, and I insist you let me speak to you and show you what I have." She motioned to the papers she held.

"And what do you have to show me, Ms. MacDonald, that is relevant to this issue?"

"I have written testimonies about both incidents regarding Mr. Venturi and Mr. Marshall from eye witnesses including myself, lists of personality factors for both boys, past events to create character profiles and numerous other charts and accounts to prove that this event was **not** just a random burst of anger or anything of the sort, but in fact an act of defense."

Everyone went silent for a moment. Derek knew she was good, but this was almost too much. Part of him wanted to laugh; she was the only person he knew who would be able to come up with all of that so fast and make it organized. Everyone else obviously felt the same way because the color drained from Josh's face, signifying his realization that he might actually get into some trouble for this and the secretary took her seat which Derek took to mean she understood Casey meant business. The Principal just stood and stared; he'd clearly never come across a student like her before.

Casey waited expectantly, crossing her arms.

"Well." The Principal finally said. "Mr. Venturi, please wait out here with Mr. Marshall. I'd like to speak with Ms. Macdonald in private." He hadn't moved, eyes still on Casey. It was almost like they were having a staring match.

"Are you kidding me?" Josh blurted out. "You aren't seriously going to listen to--"

"Mr. Marshall, I would remain silent if I were you." Josh leaned back in his seat, scowling.

"Mr. Venturi," The Principal repeated, turning his head slightly. "Please wait out here."

Derek got up and walked out of the office; he was starting to feel better about the whole thing. Casey had straightened herself out, and when he passed by her their eyes met. A knowing looks spread across her face, as if telling him everything would be okay, and Derek responded with a similar look. It was like she was telling him she would take care of it, and him responding, saying he'd done a significant amount of damage control already but he was confident she'd finish the job. The Principal cleared his throat and their eye contact broke. Derek sat a few spots away from Josh and Casey entered the office.

"Please, _no_ interruptions Susan." The Principal told the secretary before going into his office and closing the door.

It was up to Casey now.

--

**Hope you guys liked this extra long chapter! Get ready for Casey v. Principal, and I can promise that things will get interesting! As always, R&R! I love getting feedback from you guys! **


	8. He Hugged Me

Casey immediately sat down up entering the office. After she'd left Derek, she'd gone to class and told her teacher it was an emergency and she had to go. Fortunately, Casey was a well-known trustworthy student with perfect attendance and top notch grades, not a mention a known grade-grubber. Who said she couldn't use her "grubbing" abilities to convince her teacher to give her a pass so she could go talk to the Principal and help Derek? Not that she'd willingly admit that.

And since she stepped out of her class, she'd been running around the building, managing to talk to people, while making lists and trying to get enough information to convince the Principal that yes, while Derek had punched Josh, he had done it in defense and Josh had been bother Derek, as well as provoking and taunting him. Casey would be damned if she let Derek get in trouble for protecting her.

So here Casey was, sitting across from the Principal, case in hand ready to go. She knew this wasn't like her to defy her superiors, but this was something she couldn't let go. She was going to handle it in a calm and collected manner. If Casey could maneuver herself out of a class, there was a good chance she could maneuver some leniency for Derek.

"Mr.--"

"Ms. MacDonald, I know you may feel obligated to defend your brother--"

"**Step**-brother. And I do not feel obligated to defend him because of that; it wouldn't matter if he was my step-brother or not, either way he deserves someone to speak up for him because what he did was not in the spirit of causing trouble." The Principal eyed her for a moment.

"I have yet to see an action of Mr. Venturi's that was not in the spirit of causing trouble, so tell me Ms. MacDonald, what spirit were his actions in?" Casey's paused slightly, but was still determined.

"He…he was protecting me." The Principal paused and considered this; Ms. MacDonald was a good student who didn't get into trouble; she had no reason to lie or a reputation of questionable behavior, and her story was already starting to shape up to be similar to Mr. Venturi's.

"What have you put together?" He asked, motioning to the packet she held in her hands. He might as well take a look; she'd gone and spent time putting some sort of case together. Casey smiled.

"As I said before, I spoke to eyewitnesses of both events and have written accounts of what they saw and what happened. I also have lists of character traits for both boys, showing their differences in areas such as school, how they treat girls, what they do outside of school, their personalities--"

"May I take a look?" Casey stopped, realizing that she still had her papers in her hand.

"Oh, yes. Of course." She handed the packet over. He skimmed through it, pausing occasionally to read or study a page.

"This is good work, Ms. MacDonald. How did you manage to put this together in so little time?" When he had found Mr. Venturi and was bringing him to the office, Ms. MacDonald had walked off just as they were leaving. Add in the walk to the office and the talk with Mr. Venturi, there was 20 minutes at most for her to put all this together, and that didn't seem very likely. Especially with how neat it was.

"I'm not quite sure. I'm always sure to be as efficient as possible in my work." Casey paused. "I had the bystanders write out their own accounts, which saved me a lot of time, so I just had to write out my accounts of both incidents and put together the charts and lists that compare and contrast Derek and Josh." She starting to get a little anxious. Did it really matter how she put everything together? It was together and ready to present, wasn't that all that mattered? "Sir, I don't mean to interrupt your train of thought, and I certainly want you to take all this information into consideration, but shouldn't we be focusing on the issue at hand?"

"Ah, yes, we should." The Principal cleared his throat. "Now, I'm not expecting a presentation from you, Ms. MacDonald." When she started to protest, he continued. "I will certainly continue to look at this paperwork in-depth and will take it into consideration while making my decisions concerning this case, but what I would like to do more is discuss this issue with you because I believe you can shed some light on the issue." He paused. "It has come to my attention that this whole problem was started over you. Is that true?"

This was not the direction Casey wanted this conversation to go. She's gone over her whole argument, the order she'd present her findings and what was significant about them in her head. She wasn't sure she'd be as successful with this approach. She had to try, though, right?

"I suppose if you were to pinpoint a specific cause for the whole dispute, I would be a likely reason, yes." It was true, even though Casey didn't like to think of it that way. "It started over the weekend, I was out with Josh--"

"You and Mr. Marshall were dating?" Point 1 for Mr. Venturi.

"Well…yes." Casey replied. "Until this weekend that is. We got into a fight and…it didn't end well." She was starting to get uncomfortable; she didn't want to discuss her relationship with Josh or what had happened. At least not with her Principal, who had start skimming through the packet again. He turned to the written accounts of what had happened.

"What happened next that is relevant." He tipped the packet down so he could look over it at Ms. MacDonald. Casey considered this. What happened after the party that was relevant? Something that-- A moment popped into Casey's head. This would help.

"I didn't include this in my testament, Sir, but thinking about it now I feel it would help. After the unfortunate happenings at the party, I went home. I was feeling horrible, and after a while Derek got home and came to see if I was alright." She leaned forward as if telling a big secret. "Sir, he **hugged** me. It was a real hug, too. A real embrace." The happiness was practically oozing from her presence. "Now, I know that may sound odd but Derek rarely hugs people, and he's never hugged me before. He was being kind and listening to me after Josh--"

"As interesting as it is listening to your excitement over a hug, how is this relevant?"

"It is relevant because while Josh and his teammates were being rude, Derek was listening to me and being sensitive." Casey folded her hands on her lap. "Something I can testify about both these boys is their treatment of girlfriends. Josh treats girls more like property, and Derek, while he's a joker, treats his girlfriends with much more respect."

"But you haven't dated Mr. Venturi, correct?"

The question hung in the air; Casey considered it. What were she and Derek? Their relationship had definitely taken a turn the past few days. Not to mention how that conversation in that empty classroom had confirmed how they both were feeling, but they hadn't officially moved from being "Derek" and "Casey" to a "we".

"No." She sighed. "But I live with him, and I've seen enough of how he treats girls, and people in general, to know he's a good guy. Even if he enjoys playing pranks on people all the time." The Principal straightened himself out in his seat.

"Alright, Ms. MacDonald. Point taken. What is the next relevant event? And I would appreciate one that included Mr. Marshall." Casey blushed slightly at this comment and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Um…yes. The next thing…the next thing would be this morning."

"Is this the first altercation between Mr. Venturi and Mr. Marshall?" The Principal asked, trying to verify what Derek said.

"Yes, sir." Casey nodded. "I didn't see the whole thing, but when I walked up…Derek had Josh pinned up against a locker." She didn't like saying that, but she needed to tell the Principal everything that happened. "By the time I reached them Derek had let Josh go, no one was hurt or anything. I asked what was going on and Josh said 'my protector was making his rounds' but Derek told me to drop it. So I asked our friend Sam, who saw the whole thing, his testimony is there, and he told me to ask Derek why he was so protective." Casey paused to catch her breath. "From what I gathered when I got his testimony it seemed like Derek was trying to get Josh to stay away from me. Not really his place, if I might add, but it was kind of sweet. Whether you believe it or not, Derek can be a sweet guy."

The Principal sat silently for a moment.

"You and Mr. Venturi both seem to have no problem giving extremely detailed descriptions." He sighed. "What was the next interaction between Mr. Venturi and Mr. Marshall?" Casey paused; she needed to keep the pace up, or else he wouldn't hear her out.

"That would be this afternoon. I'd been looking for Derek to talk about this morning, and I found him at the beginning of lunch. We were talking in the hall when Josh came up to us; he tried getting back together with me and when I said no Derek stepped in since Josh was being persistent. When Derek tried to get Josh to leave me alone, Josh pushed him up against a locker so Derek pushed Josh to get him off of him. Then Josh came back, and of course Derek tried to get me to leave but I wasn't going to leave him-" She realized she was rambling. "Josh grabbed Derek and I was sure Derek was going to get hurt, but Derek hit Josh to avoid getting hit himself. It was all in self-defense, sir." By this point Casey was on a roll, and she couldn't stop herself. "Derek was trying to help me and Josh let his ridiculous sense of trying to be superior get in the way. Derek would not have hit Josh unless he'd felt threatened, and he was threatened. I felt threatened too, and although I hate violence, it was what he had to do." Casey stood up. "So if you're going to punish that guy out there for standing up for himself and protecting me, I don't think ethics matter much around here. This isn't a by the book case by any means!"

Casey froze, and realized that she had just ranted at the Principal. About ethics and how he should run his school. He was sitting there silently, watching her. He raised his eyebrows, and Casey slowly sat down.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I just--"

"Ms. MacDonald, I think you've spoken enough." He silenced her. "I've heard all I need to hear for the time being. I have your packet if I need further explanation." He stood up, the packet still in hand. "I'm going to ask you to take a seat outside with Mr. Venturi and Mr. Marshall and wait while I go over what I've heard and make my decisions for further action." He sat down again. Casey sighed, and stood up. She felt like she'd blown the whole thing and that she'd just annoyed the Principal. She was suppose to get Derek out of trouble, not into more. She reached the door but stopped. This needed one more try.

"Sir?" He looked up.

"Yes, Ms. MacDonald?" Casey opened her mouth to speak, then shut it. She turned around.

"I know you don't like Derek very much…believe me, there are times when I don't like him much either. But he's more than the trouble-maker you're used to seeing. He's really a good guy. I can testify to that." Casey took a step forward. "I know the punishment for fighting is usually suspension or expulsion, but he doesn't deserve a punishment that harsh. Derek tends to cause trouble, and he loves testing people's boundaries, I know from experience, but he isn't stupid and he knows when things are serious. Well, most of the time." She shook her head. "He wasn't trying to cause trouble. He was trying to take care of what he thought was a serious situation. It's just…" She sighed. "I was very upset after Josh and I broke up. And Derek hates it when--"

"You cry?" The Principal finished. Casey gave him an unsure look.

"Yes, the whole crying thing…wait. How--" She stopped. "He told you that?" The Principal gave a confirmation nod. "Right. Anyway, he was just trying to do, dare I say it, the right thing. It's a new thing for him, and I know it didn't go over so well, but this just got out of hand. Couldn't this be a warning round, with some leniency for those new to the whole trying-to-do-what's-right concept? I'll keep him in check." Casey bit her lip. After a few moments of silence, the Principal finally spoke.

"Thank you for your time, Ms. MacDonald. I'll take everything you said into consideration." Casey considered saying something else, but thought better of it. Just as she was about to leave, the Principal spoke again without looking up. "And Ms. MacDonald-" Casey stopped and turned. "I expect you to keep your word and keep him in check. You're both seniors; I don't need to see him, or you, in here again."

"Yes, Sir." Casey said, a huge smile appearing on her face.

--

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I feel alright about it, I think I did okay finding the balance for Casey between standing for what she believes in but still trying to follow the rules. The next chapter may or may not be what's going on between Derek and Josh while Casey's in the office leading to who gets what punishment, so let me know what you guys think of that idea. I've been mulling it over for a couple days and I'm not completely sure. Alright, thanks guys! As always I love hearing what you think! 3**


	9. This Is Not A Competition, Gentlemen

Derek watched Casey walk into the Principal's office. He felt that he'd done a good job defending himself, but he figured Casey would put the final touches on his case. The comforting look she'd given him had shown that. He took a seat a few chairs away from Josh, who was sitting with his arms crossed, looking pissed off. Derek leaned his head back against the wall. They sat in silence, the sounds of the secretary typing the only noise between the three of them. Unfortunately, that silence lasted only about 4 minutes and 38 seconds. At least that's what Derek counted.

"This is ridiculous; he can't seriously be watching some stupid presentation." Josh hadn't moved, just started talking. Derek rolled his eyes and smirked.

"It's probably cause she's got so much dirt on you, which is something you may want to work on in the future." Josh turned his head.

"Shut it, Venturi. You wouldn't be so smug if she wasn't in there fighting your battle for you." The smirk wavered for the flicker of a second, and then it was back at full force. He sat up and looked at Josh.

"I'd be smug either way because I did nothing wrong. And _Casey's_ not fighting my battle; _I_ fought my battle when _I_ was in there. She's…making sure the battle's won. There's a difference."

"Did nothing wrong? Venturi, you started this fight by trying to tell me what to do. Not to mention it was **you** who hit **me**."

"Excuse me? I wouldn't have hit you if you weren't about to take a few out on my face. You didn't honestly think I'd let you take a swing at either of us, did you? **Especially **her? I knew you were slow, Marshall, but I figured you had some level of intelligence." Derek paused. "And if you and your stupid football buddies hadn't messed around with her I wouldn't have had to talk to you in the first place."

"Venturi, you shouldn't have talked to me about it at all. What happened had nothing to do with you. You decided to make it your business."

"No, I didn't **make** it my business. It automatically **is** my business when someone makes her upset."

"So, what, you're gonna beat somebody up every time she cries?" Josh snorted. "And you're calling me stupid?"

"No. Just if someone **makes** her cry." Derek glared at Josh for a moment before his eyes moved to the door of the office. "It doesn't matter anyway, I'm just glad to see you're now smart enough to know there's no point in going near her again." Josh laughed.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Derek Venturi would become a pushover. And over Casey MacDonald of all people." Derek took in a breath.

"You know what? If what I did means I'm a pushover, alright. Fine with me. I'd rather be a pushover than an idiot."

"I'd be careful who I was talking to if I was you. I am not an idiot. Got it?"

"Fine, you're a jerk. Better?" Josh started to stand up.

"You know what, Venturi? I'm--"

"Is there a problem?" Both boys looked up; they had forgotten the Secretary was there; she'd stood up behind her desk and was eyeing them as though expecting to have to call for backup.

"I'm doing pretty good," Derek replied leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, "but I'm not so sure about Josh here." He looked at Josh. "Problem?" He couldn't help but enjoy messing around with Josh. Josh glanced back and forth between the secretary and Derek for a moment.

"No." he said, sitting down. The secretary paused for a moment, as if considering whether to believe him or not. After a moment she slowly sat down again, and as soon as she did Josh turned on Derek. "Thanks a lot, Venturi. Now I look bad."

"And you didn't before?" Derek scoffed. He saw the look on Josh's face, and put his hands up. "Okay, relax. No need to get…uh…upset." He tried not to laugh, he really did. But Josh was one of those big, exceptionally tall guys, and seeing him get all frustrated…things like that were just funny to Derek.

But Josh didn't calm down, and he didn't appreciate Derek laughing at him.

"You think this is funny?"

"Not really…" Derek tried to suppress his laughter. "No." Josh just looked at him, as if he was considering if beating the crap out of him right there would be a bad idea, but before he could do anything, they heard loud voices from the office. Well, it was one loud voice: Casey's. Both boy's heads turned to the door. They couldn't tell what she was saying, but when she was finished the office went quiet again and they couldn't tell what was going on.

"I don't understand how anyone can live with her. She is seriously crazy" Josh said, sitting back. "And it sounds like she just flipped on the Principal. That wouldn't be too good for you, would it?" It was Josh who was being smug this time, and Derek hoped he didn't seem look as ridiculous when he was smug.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Josh. You don't know what happened." Derek snapped. He didn't want to admit it, but it had sounded like Casey had lost control of herself, and that wouldn't be good for either of them. "And she's not that crazy."

"Sure, whatever you say." Josh replied, putting his hands up mockingly. "I just have question: does your relationship include her controlling how you do you homework like how you control who she dates?" Derek's eyes narrowed. He had no intention of discussing his relationship with Casey; he knew Josh wouldn't understand, and he didn't feel like it was his business. Derek protected Casey, he always had in some shape or form. When someone messed with her they messed with him, and, he supposed, vice versa. If he pushed, she pulled. They balanced one another out. "What's wrong, Venturi? Are you upset cause you know I'm right?" Josh teased.

"No, I'm upset because you're still talking to me." Derek shot in a sarcastic tone.

"You know, I'm getting pretty sick of you and your stupid comments, Venturi. You're lucky I haven't--"

"Well I'm getting pretty sick of your false threats. So can we end this conversation?"

"_False _threats?" Josh practically growled. That remark seemed to have pissed him off the most. "You think I'm bluffing, Venturi?" Derek shrugged.

"I don't know. All I know if you keep threatening me and yet the only person with a black eye here is you." Josh stood up.

"That's about to change." The next few seconds happened in what felt like slow motion. Josh was walking over to Derek, who got up in hopes to defend himself. The secretary got up, and upon seeing what was going on started saying something to Josh. Derek glanced over at her but didn't hear what she said. He saw the door to the Principal's office opening as he was turning back to Josh when--

Right. In. the. Jaw.

Derek moved back and grabbed where Josh had hit it. It been a hard hit, not nearly as bad as the punch Derek had thrown, but the bottom right side of his face was still throbbing.

"Mr. Marshall!" Came the Principal's voice, along with a gasp Derek knew came from Casey. He thanked the Gods of Timing and looked up. The Principal was staring Josh down like a vulture, Casey was rushing over to him, Josh looked like he had just crapped himself and the secretary, if it was possible, looked even more pissed off than the Principal.

"Derek!" Casey exclaimed when she finally reached him. "Are you okay? What happened?" She was trying to move him hands to look at where Josh had hit him.

"Hey, Space Case, calm down." He said, trying to get her to relax.

"But Derek--" She started.

"Casey." Derek said, grabbing her hands and locking eyes with her. "I'm fine. Promise." She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it.

"Sir, I didn't--" Their attention was turned elsewhere when they heard Josh trying to explain himself to the Principal.

"You clearly did, Mr. Marshall. I just saw it." The Principal replied. Josh tried to speak again, but the Principal put his hand up and silenced him. "No. Don't talk." He gave a frustrated sigh. "This is getting ridiculous." He was looking between Josh and Derek. "Nothing constitutes fighting, gentlemen. _Nothing_. You both are Seniors at this High School and are suppose to be giving an example to your classmates and your _teammates_. Not fighting over trivial issues like which one of you the girl likes best. This is not a competition, gentlemen. We are not in the Renaissance. We are in the 21st Century and in the 21st Century if things don't work out our way between ourselves and a girl," A few glances went Casey's way, "we don't start throwing punches like some sort of hoodlum. We get over it. "

There was silence between all of them. Casey look shocked, Derek had his eyebrows raised and looked like he was about to laugh, and Josh looked confused and insulted.

"Now," The Principal continued, "as for the consequences of your actions." He moved over to the secretary's desk, which the secretary was still standing behind. He grabbed some slips from one of the files, a pen from his pocket and he started writing on them. "Mr. Venturi," he said, handing the first finished slip. "Due to the self-defense motives for your actions and the circumstances leading up to them, you're going to get off easy with detention today and for the rest of the week. But take this as a warning. Fighting usually constitutes suspension or expulsion. I won't be this generous a second time." He handed the slip to Derek. "I don't want to see you in this office again. Understood?"

"Understood." Derek replied, taking the slip. "Thank you, Sir." The Principal nodded.

"Your welcome. Now go get some ice for that," He said, motioning to Derek's jaw. "Ms. MacDonald, you can go with him." He scribbled a pass down for the two of them. "Get going."

"Thank you," Casey said, taking the pass. As she and Derek were exiting the office, they heard Josh being given his punishment.

"Sir, I'd just like to say that--"

"Save it, Mr. Marshall. Not only have I received complaints about your harassment of others from students, parents and your coach, but everything except your own account of what happened points to you provoking this argument to the point of it getting physical. And let's not forget that I just saw you punch Mr. Venturi. It is clear that you have no self-restraint. Therefore, I'm afraid you'll be suspended for two days and detention for two weeks. This means you're also pulled from the football team until further notice. I'll have to call your parents to come pick you up."

"What?! But Sir--"

"Come along, Mr. Marshall, back into my office."

--

**Alright guys, we're almost there! One chapter left I think, and "Why Don't You Date Her?" will find its conclusion. I can't believe it's almost there! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; Derek got off without getting into too much trouble and Josh got what was coming to him. I tried to be at least semi-realistic about punishments and how everything was happening, as well as giving the Principal a little flair. Teenage boys and their competitive streaks. So the next and, as far as I know, last chapter is going to focus on Derek and Casey and where they stand now that the dust has cleared. Anyway, I'm going to stop ranting. Thanks as always for reading and reviewing, I love the feedback! You guys rock! **

**P.S.- What would you guys think of a sequel? I've started having some ideas about it.**

**P.P.S.- If any of you have a story or an idea in mind that you think would be good, that you would like to see written (by someone other than yourselves) and think I would do it justice feel free to message me or e-mail!**


	10. I Don't Like Romantic Moments

"Wow." Derek said as they started walking toward the Nurse's office, a huge smile on his face. "Casey, that was amazing."

"Yeah?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in anticipation.

"I mean _amazing_." He gave her a slight nudge in the arm and she blushed. "I don't know what you did, but you managed to get the Principal, who **hates** everyone, mainly me, to be lenient. Something I never thought would happen. Ever."

"I didn't do that much," She admitted, thinking back to her conversation with the Principal and how she'd defended Derek. She had actually yelled, and Casey felt a little proud of herself. "We mostly talked about happened; he wasn't really interested in my presentation." Derek laughed.

"Smart guy." That comment got him a smack in the back of the head. "Ow, I was kidding!" He paused, and after a moment gave her a clumsy smile. "But honestly, Case…and I probably won't admit to saying this, but…thanks. I mean it. If you hadn't helped me I don't think I would've gotten off so easy."

"You're welcome," Casey replied, and then her face fell. "I'm sorry Josh hit you."

"Don't be." Derek said as he looked at her and noticed how sad she looked. "What's the matter, Case? Everything turned out great! Josh got suspended, detention, **and** pulled from the football team. Not to mention the black eye. All I got was some detention time."

"And a punch in the face." She added, glancing at the spot where Josh had hit him.

"Yeah, but he didn't hit me nearly as hard as I hit him. I mean, detention and an aching jaw isn't a bad price to pay considering what he got. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Casey burst out.

"What--"

"Derek, he could have really hurt you and it would have been all my fault! Then where would I be?" Derek stopped walking and just looked at her.

"You're not serious, are you?" He continued after hearing no response. "Casey--."

"Yes, I am serious! This is serious! You wouldn't have gotten hit if you weren't involved and you wouldn't have been involved if I--"

"Casey!" She stopped. "I was involved the moment they decided to mess with you. And I would have found out and done something about it whether you told me or not. And you didn't really tell me if you want to get technical about it. Emily did. In reality, you had nothing to do with it." Derek paused. Casey was looking at the floor. "Casey?" He took a step closer to her. "Space Case, come back to Earth and look at me." She looked up at him. "This," he pointed to his jaw, "was not your fault. Okay? You had no control over Josh's actions. I don't even see why you're upset, you hit me enough at home." He sighed in mock-hurt tone and Casey couldn't help but give a small laugh and smile.

"Der-_ek_," She groaned, tilting her head forward and leaning it on her hands. "_Why_ do you have to make everything a joke? This isn't suppose to be funny." It was obvious that she wasn't mad; maybe more frustrated that he could so easily turn something she considered very serious into something funny.

"What's the point on focusing on what could have happened?" Derek replied, shrugging. "Yes, he could have hit me harder and a lot of other bad things could have happened. But they didn't, I'm fine, and things turned out really good in my opinion. Well…mostly." Derek glanced at her. He wanted to talk to about this, continue from where they'd left off when the stupid lunch bell had rang. "Listen, Casey--"

"You're starting to bruise." She said quietly, interrupting him. He paused and considered this.

"That usually happens when you get punched." He said slightly-sarcastically as he moved his jaw to see how much damage had been done. "It'll hurt for a couple of days too, but I'll survive." Casey nodded.

"Good."

"Were you really worried about me?" He finally asked, hoping to get her to talk about it.

"Did you get into a fight over me?" She replied, looking up, as if this was something he should have already know.

"Point taken," He said, kicking his feet.

Suddenly, without really thinking what she was doing, Casey moved her hand up to Derek's jaw as though she was trying to see if the injury was really there. She carefully touched the area around the tender spot, but Derek didn't move. He wasn't completely sure why, but he found what she was doing comforting. She was focused on that spot, she still felt responsible for it, at least a little. Even if Josh and Derek hadn't been talking about her when it'd happened, to her he'd taken a hit for her, and that meant a lot.

"You need to get some ice on that," She said, grabbing his hand and starting to walk again. But he didn't move. He knew that if something didn't happen soon, they'd push the whole conversation in that empty classroom aside and go back to what they were before, and Derek didn't want that. So he did something about it.

"Derek, c'mon, let's-"

Casey was cut off when Derek pulled her in and kissed her. She responded, grabbing the front of his leather jacket while he cupped her face in his hands. The world suddenly became compact, fitting right into their kiss. In that moment, that's all there was.

When they finally decided to come up for air, Casey pulled away just enough to look up at him. She was smiling.

"You know, you're not very good at romantic moments." Typical Casey. Derek shrugged.

"I don't like romantic moments. I like kissing. You should know this." Casey rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully. "Would you mind watching what you're doing? I just got punched!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Casey replied in a tone of mock concern. "We'll have to have the nurse kiss it better for you when we get there." Derek shuddered.

"No thanks, I think I'd rather have _Josh_ kiss it better." Casey raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think that would go over too well."

"Probably not." Derek paused and put an arm around Casey's shoulder. "You mind?" He asked, gesturing to his jaw.

There was a pause and their eyes met in a moment of non-verbal communication. His eyes were telling her he was serious; there was no trace of a joke on his face. Her eyes were studying him, and after a moment they had that signature sparkle in them.

"I would, but I usually go for guys who like romance." She gave a knowing smile and Derek laughed.

"Let's think about this: where are those romantic guys now? Off somewhere else drowning in romance. And where am I? Fighting guys over you." He mimicked weighing the two sides with his hands. "Besides, I think I can make a _very _convincing argument, using the famous Venturi charm of course." He winked, and pulled her closer as they walked. "So tell me, what exactly did you **do** to the Principal to get me out of being suspended? Threaten to never stop talking? Show him your presentation?"

"Der-ek!" Casey exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

This time Derek didn't smirk; he smiled. Life was good, and he only saw it getting better.

--

**Well, here it is guys! The Final Chapter to "Why Don't You Date Her?". It's short, but it's all Derek/Casey. Sorry it took so long, I've been busy and I wanted to try to get this right; I didn't think they'd be overly romantic, it's Derek after all, but there would be some romance. And I didn't doubt there'd be teasing and sarcasm and whatnot. Hopefully I found the balance.**

**I'd like to thank those of you who have been with this story from the start, even though that was only about a month ago, and those of who came during the process and stuck around. This was my first fanfic and I appreciate you reading, reviewing and giving me such great feedback! It has encouraged me to keep writing, and I am currently tossing around ideas for a couple of one-shots and a Sequel to this so don't worry, you'll be hearing from me again. **

**Thanks again! 3 Becka**


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